DOLE to Introduce New OFW ID Card on July 12

Good news to all OFWs as the OEC will be scrapped and will be replaced with an OFW ID called iDOLE (ID of the Department of Labor and Employment). This OFW ID card is free and will be automatically be issued to all OFWs.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced that the OFW ID will be launched on 12 July 2017 and will replace the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC).

OFW ID Card Called iDOLE to Replace OEC

Plenty of OFWs find it such a hassle to secure for an OEC as it is an added task for us to apply. We usually get one before we go home and we have to go to the Philippine embassy or Philippine Consulate, line up and then pay extra fees to get that piece of paper. The OEC is a proof that we are working legally in our respective countries, but we find it unnecessary to have to secure this paper every other year.

With this new update of an OFW ID card, once this is released, all we have to do is show the iDOLE card and this will serve as your license to travel back and forth countries of work.

“Under this program, all bonafide OFWs will be given iDOLE, the ID of the Department of Labor and Employment at no cost to the OFWs. This will serve as the OEC of the OFWs,” says Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

OFW ID to be Connected to SSS, Philhealth and Pag-IBIG

Aside from the iDOLE OFW ID card replacing the OEC, it will also be connected to your Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG fund so you can access and process transactions easily.

DOLE is set to collaborate with Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) so that the issuance of the OFW ID will be easier.

Here’s a video news report from ABS-CBN stating the launch of the ID for the OFWs.